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and looks ahead to residencies and beyond political and research problems." As they move into the role of alumni of the medical school, said Adrienne Segovia, MD '90, chair of the Medical Alumni Council, graduates in their journey through residency or private practice will be asked where they received their medical education. They may reply "the U of I" but it's more than that, she said. "You didn't go to the University of Illinois College of Medicine, you are the University of Illinois College of Medicine." Commencement speaker Howard Koh, MD, MPH, assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, imparted his hopes for the graduates. Above all, he coun- seled them to protect their own health, mindful of demands that can test doctors to their limits. He also urged them to learn humility and trust, including an "attitude of gratitude" for what their patients can teach them in their fragility and frailty. That especially extends to patients whom they cannot cure no matter how hard they try. "Those University of Illinois President- designate, Robert Easter ELATION patients will teach you not only about life, but about quality of life." The patient relationship will be a unique professional experience, he added, something not found elsewhere in the business world. "Wearing the white coat, I could always sense the power of trust that binds doctor and patient together in a solemn human agenda." Koh called on graduates to "earn that trust" and revel in it as "something that defines our profession and brings meaning to what we do and who we are." Lastly, he got a plug in for public health, with the "hope [that] many of you can promote and protect the health of the nation in your work.... Your generation will have the opportunity to transform our system from one focused on sickness and disease to one that will focus on prevention and wellness, so that all people can truly enjoy the gift of health." The challenges ahead were as much a theme as completing medical school. "I'm just getting my head around the change in re- sponsibility of being a doctor," said Nneka Madu, MD '12, who will Howard Koh, U.S. assistant secretary for health ILLINOIS MEDICINE | 17